Testing-machine



(no maal.) y

J. W.- MULLEN. TESTING Mmmm.`

Patented Feb; 22, 1887" 1 v l :vv

lnx/EMBL www mmm fractured,the amount UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

"Ltnr, or nonronn, Massacnusnrrs.

TESTING-MAGHlNE..

SPBCIFICATTIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 358,056, dated February 22,1887.

i Application filed August 9, i886.

To all vwhom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, donati?. MULLEzv, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Holyoke, wealth'ofrllfassachnsetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Testing-Machines,

-of which the following is aspeciilcation, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

My invention relates to machines for testing the tensile strength of fabrics, and more panticularly to that class of such machines in which the testis made by pressure exerted against the fabric in a direction perpehdicular to its surface.

Heretofore, so far as I am aware, machines for testing and registering thetcnsile strength of fabrics have belonged to one or the other of two types or general classes. 'The first and most numerous type is composed of those machines in which a strip of the fabricisclamped between two pairs of grips or holders, after which, by means of weights and scale-beams or manuallyoperatcd levers, of grips or holders is moved awayfrom the other until the strip of fabric between them is of force required to cause the, fracture being registered by suitable apparatus. This type of machine has been found to be wholly unreliable as a means of determining the true strength of fabrics, particle larly with respect to paper, owing to the fact that the strain being exerted in I the plane of the fabric, and being distributed vover or through a comparatively large arca thereof, the stretching of the fabric interferes with the accurate registering of the force ex erted' at the instant of fracture, and, moreover, in the case of very thin papers, especially, the strain exerted in this manner causes a fracture to beginnt the edge of the strip and tear toward the center thereof, such fracture being by no means atest of the actual tensilestrcngth of the paper within the edges of the same, These objections have led to the construction of the second type of machines referred to-to wit, one in which the strain is exerted upon or againsta limited area of the fabric within its edges and in a direction perpendicular to in the county of Hampden and Uornmon l one of the pairs yand itsfulcrum, and, again,l between the the direction of Y Serial No. 210,395. (No model.)y

the surface thereof. Sofar'as I am aware, this type is limited to one species of machine, in which the fabric is firmly clamped in such a position that it covers the open mouth or bore of avertical tube,within which ametallcplunger is located in such manner that when elevated by a weight sliding upon a scale-beam, i

to which the plunger is connected, the plunger is brought in contact with the underside of the clamped fabric, and fractures the latter when the force exerted by the weight overcomes the tensile resistance of the same. This machine, while it overcomes many of the defects existing in those of the first type referred to, is itself open to very serious objections, among which may be mentioned the inability of the contacting end of the plunger to adapt itself to unevenncss in the surface of the fabric, which becomes of vital importance when thinpapers of delicate texture are to impossibility of determining the exact amount of pressure exerted lby the plunger through the scale-'beam and weight, owing,` to the unknown amount of friction between' the beam beam'r and its connection with the plunger, and', still again, between the plunger and the bore in which it moves. Moreover, it is practically impossible `to construct a scalebeatn with a scale thereon graduated to adegrce commensurate with the delicate operation of accurately registering the tensile strength of very light fragile papers. ,f

The objectof my invention is to overcome struct one which tests the tensile strength of fabricsby a strain exerted upon a limited area,

within the edges of the same, and at the same time accurately measures and registers the amount of strain at the instant of fracture, whether the fabric be of a tenacious character or the most delicate. l Y

I have discovered that the actual strength of paper of any grade can be 4actmratcly.determined by subjecting a single sheet thereof to the strain exerted by liquid under press`ure,diy rented against a limited area of the surface, and that this strain can be'accurately registered at the instant at which it overcomes the tenacity be tested, and the the interior of l angle, as shown.

and fractional parts thereof, being the exact tensile strength of the paper. I have embodied this principle in a machine which obviates all of the objections noted above as pertaining to existing machines, and which is at the same time compact in structure andcomparativel y inexpensive in manufacture.

My invention therefore vconsists in the method and apparatus hereinafter more fully described, and particularly specied in the claims.

In the drawings, in which like let-ters indl- .cate like parts in all the figures, Figure l is a central longitudinal sectional view of my machine, showing the fabric clamped in position to be tested. Fig. 2 is a' perspective view thereof, andFig. 3 is a detail perspective view of parts hereinafter referred to. Y

A represents a cylinder, attached to and supported by the bed-plate or base Tin any suitable manner. The cylinderAis centrally bored throughout its entire length, and is preferably bent near one of its ends at a right tion of the cylinder thus formed is inserted a piston, B, whiehis of slightly less diameter than the bore of the cylinder, so that a snug fit is insured, the piston, however, being adapted to be moved back and forth lon gitudinally of the bore. vThere are obviously many ways in which this reciproeation of the piston could be effected. I have shown what seem to me to be the best means for securing this result, which are as follows: The rear end of the pisto` is centrally bored for a portion of its length, said bore beingr provided with a screw-thread. lVthin this bore is entered a screw-threaded rod, C, which rod at its outer end is supported in such a manner that it is capable of turning withouty progressionby'a hollow cap, E, which cap is screwed upon the -end of cylinder A. Connected with the end of said rod O, outside of the cap, is a handwheel, D, for convenience in turningthe same. W'ithin the periphery ofpiston B is cut a longitudinal groove, G, which groove receives the end of a screw, F, passing inwardly through the wall of cylinder of said screw being to prevent axial movement of the piston, while permitting it to reciprocate.

From the construction just described it follows that by turning the hand-wheel Din one direction agradual and steady advance of the piston within the bore of the cylinder willy be effected, and that by turning it in the reverse direction the piston will be caused to recede.

In order to secure a waterand air tight connection between the piston and the bore of the'cylinder, I provide the former at its inner forward end with a cup, K, made of leather or other suitable iiexible material, and secure the same to the piston in a well-known manlVithin the horizontal por- A, the function ner by means -of the screw H and washer, as shown.

The vertical portion et' the cylinder terminates, preferably, in a peripheral ange, the outer face of which face.

M indicates a diaphragm, preferably composed of a rubber disk, which must be of a greaterdiameter than the bore of the cylinder, it being designed to close the mouth of the bore when placed thereover, yand for convenience of manipulation I have made it of greater diameter than the ilanged end of the cylinder and have connected it with a ring, L, the ring having a diameter sufficient to allow it to be pressed down over the flange, as shown in Fig. I, thus enabling the disl; to be readily removed and replaced. I

. The paper to be tested (shown at N in the drawings) is placed upon the disk after the latter has been put in position over the month of the cylinder, and must be firmly clamped thereon. 'Ihere are many forms of clamps which might be used for this purpose; but I prefer to employ the one shown i-n thedrawings, which is constructed as follows:.

Formed integral with .or attached to the cylinder at any convenient/point below the flange isa bracket, Q, extending upwardly and inwardly to a point overthe center of the bore of the cylinder. This bracket may be composed of two arms, as shown, or of a single arm. Mountedin a screw-threaded socket in said bracket is the serewrod S, to which, for convenience in turning, is attached a handwheel, R. 1 Swiveled to thelower end of said rod, by means of converging arms, is the clamp P, said clamp consisting ot' a disk the under side of which is fiat and smooth, and having a central opening of the same diameter as the bore of the 'cylinder with which the opening registers. Rotation of the hand-wheel in one direction will raise the clamp from and in the reverse direction will lower it upon theilanged end of the cylinder, and, as is obvious, by conthe clamp can be forced against theend of the cylinder' to such a degree as with the rubber disk to form a water and air tight `joint.

' The construction thus far described com- 'prises the means for directing a `column of water under pressure against the surface of the paper to test its tensile strength.

| for measuring and registering the amount of strain required to rupture the paper. These i means consist of a onductingpipe, X, leading from the bore of the cylinder' at any suiti able point in the vertical portion thereof to a pressure-gage, \\",located in any convenient ,positioir I have shown-the pipe as being It only remains tor me to describe the meansv presents a flat smooth sul`- IOO IlO

tinuing the rotation in the latter direction t IIS short and straight and as supporting the gage l at its outer end; but this arrangementmay be varied at will. rl`he gage may be of any of the well-known constructions in which pressure of wateris indicated by the pointer on the l) for this purpose.

"at the instant of rupture, 'scribed cated directlyr to the paper, 1- cape of the water from the cylinder, and cousequently nol moisture is imparted to the pfty dial in 'poundsaud fractional parts thereof. y I j the dial by the pressure of thewater it carries with it the indicator, the

p point of the latter registering with the point of the former. When, however, the pressure ruptures the pa per and the pointer makes the sudden retrograde movement resulting from the. sudden u release' ofthe pressure, the indicator remains stationary at the point at which the rupture occurred, thus registering the exact strength `of the paper until moved vback,f0r another test.

The operation of my machine will be apparent from the foregoing description. That portion of the bore of the cylinder in front ofthe piston is filled with water, and the ring L is forced around theendof the cylinder, causing the Vrubber disk to closely cover lthe mouth of the bore and 'confme'the Water therein. A

- sing e sheetV of the paperto be, tested is then 'placed' upon the disk and the' clamp? is low- 4eredand forced down upon the paper and disk until a Water-tight joint is formed. The handf 'wheelfD is then turned, forcing-the piston for- Twzi\rd,co1npressing the water until the pressure of the latter exerted against the paper through theelasticity of the rubber disk is snicient to ruptnre'the paper, the gage-indicator registering the exact amount of pressure existing as -liereinbeforede- The rubber disk, `Wliileit permits the full pressure of the water tobe communi prevenis any es per. v While I havev illustrated and describen die use of water in my machine, and prefer such use, I Wish it to be understood that various `other liquids could be substituted therefor, or e that air could be utilized in my machine Withont departing from the spirit of my invention.

It is also obvious that fabrics other than paper could bejsuccessfully `tested* in my machine.

` I claim 1. The method of testing the tensile strength i 'i Tof fabrics'herein set forth', the same consistn e ing in subjecting a limited area of the fabric to a strain exerted by liquid underpressnre ythrough an-interposed elastic diaphragm and registering the amount of such strain.

2.I rrheAmethod of testing the tensile strength Ying in rigidly supporting a which may I seance 3 of fabrics herein set forth, the same consistf the fabric in a plane horizontal to a column ofwatcr under pressure, intcrposing between the fabric andadjacent end of the column of 'water an elastic water-proof medium, and sub- Water to an increased pressure jccting the sufficient to rupture the fabric,"anglpiinultanconsly therewith indicatingind'registering the amount of pressure exerted.

3. In a machine for testing paper or other fabric, the combination of a hollow cylinder containing Water, a] piston, rocating the latter, and an elastic Waterproof disk closing the open end of the cylinder, with means 4for clamping asheet of paper upon' said disk in such a manner that com' pression of the Water by movement of the pis ton vwill cause the paper-to be ruptured Within its edges, andk means for registering the amount Vci pressure exerted bythe water, substantially as shown and described. 4, ln a machine for strength of fabrics,

eating the latter, anelastic disk closing the open end 'of the cylinder to prevent direct contact of the liquid with the fabric, a clamp consisting of aV disk having a central opcn ing, said opening being of the diameter oi' the bore of the cylinder, and means for raising and lowering said clamp, all combined and arranged substantially as seli'i'orth.v

5. In a machine for test-ing fabrics, the combination, with l liquid, of an'elastic disk closing one end of a hollow cylinder containing said cylinder, means for rigidly supporting a sheet of paper upon said disk, a pressure gage, aconducting-pipe leading from the in terior of the cylinder to said gage, and means for compressing Athe water within the cylinder, substantially as shown and described.

(l. ln a vmachine for testing fabrics, `a hollow cylinder containing liquid, an elastic cov-n ering for one end of the cylinder, means for clamping the fabric over said covering, means for' compressing the liquid within the cylin der, a conducting-pipe leading 'from the in terior of the cylinder, a pressure-gage connected with the outer end of said pipe, said gage having a dial andpointer, an indicator mounted upon the axis of the pointer, and connecting means between said pointer and indicator adapted to move the latter in but one direction, all combined and operating substantially as shown-and described.

7. The combinationfof cylinder A, piston B, means to reciprocate the latter, rubber l:disk M, bracket Q; screw-rod S, and clamp l?, arranged and operating substantially as set 1 forth. l l

8. The' combination ol cylinder A, piston l B, disk lll, ring L, clamp P, pipe X, and gage XV, arranged and operating sul'istantially as described. l i

9. Thecombination of cylinderlA, piston limited area of Y.

means for recip testing the tensile a hollow cylinder con f" taining liquid, a piston, means for recipro-- B, having the groove G, screw F, screw-rod with means 'for measuring the pressure ex- 1o C, cap E, hand-Wheel D, disk M, clamp P, erted against the disk by a column of WaiterA pipe X, gageV, pointer Y, and indicator Z, confined within the cylinder Whenthe piston arranged and operating substantially as deis advanced, substantially as `shown and described.- J scribed.

l0. The combination of cylinder A, piston B, having a watertight packing at; its front Witnesses: l end, elastic Water-'proof disk M, clamp P, and W. H. CHAPMAN',

JOHN XV. BVIULLEN.

means for raising and lowering said clamp, R. EMIL EZOLD. 

